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Charlie Baker: Scott Brown, part deux?

Sen. Scott Brown's (R) special election victory last month in Massachusetts was cast by many political operatives -- of both parties -- as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, the result of the confluence of factors that would be almost impossible to replicate in a future contest.

Charlie Baker sure doesn't think so.

"The biggest lesson [from Brown's victory] is that voters expect to be asked for their vote and they don't expect you to take anything for granted," said Baker in an interview for the Fix's "Rising" series that highlights up and coming politicians.

Baker, the near certain Republican nominee against embattled Gov. Deval Patrick (D) this fall, is following that advice to the letter in his campaign.

Baker's fundraising success led Patrick to do a bit of damage control, sending out a fundraising(!) email that noted: "Insiders may try to use this month's fundraising totals to proclaim that Governor Patrick is in trouble, is unlikely to win in November, or may not even run at all. This is not true."

What is true is that Baker is widely seen within national Republican circles as a rising star who, if he manages to win this fall, will immediately be a part of the veepstakes conversation in 2012.

Baker's resume reads a lot like the last Republican governor of Massachusetts: Mitt Romney. He went to Harvard as undergraduate and then Northwestern business school before spending eight years in the administration of Massachusetts Govs. Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci He left state government in 1998 to head up Harvard Pilgrim, a million member not-for-profit health insurance plan.

Baker's decade-long affiliation with Harvard Pilgrim -- in which he asserts he took the company from a "mess" to a one recognized by U.S. News as one of the best plans in the country -- prepared him for what is to come if he is elected governor, he noted. "My whole career is running into burning buildings and trying to put out fires," Baker said.

Democrats, however, are likely to focus less on Baker's stint at Harvard Pilgrim and more on the time he spent serving under Weld and Cellucci.

"Baker was a key part of other important policy decisions that are also open to debate. For example, Baker was secretary of health and human services when the Weld administration moved to deregulate the health care industry in Massachusetts. As a result, health care providers now compete with each other; the state no longer sets rates. Baker also signed off on the merger of the state's two biggest hospitals, which occurred without a public hearing. As CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, he has been critical of the fallout, especially as it relates to cost. He recently compared it to 'having the grenade that you throw on one end of the boat roll back down and blow up on you when the boat shifts.'"

Baker will do everything he can to distance himself from his time in state government -- he noted that he hadn't served in an administration for 12 years -- and position himself as an outsider to the way politics has been conducted in the state in recent years.

"The race is a referendum on Beacon Hill and on the folks who have been in power for the last six to eight years," said Baker in a line that could easily have been pulled from Scott Brown's stump speech.

Baker added that the people he blames for the current economic morass in the state include not just Patrick but also state Treasurer Tim Cahill who left the Democratic party to pursue a bid for governor as an independent. "Tim Cahill and Governor Patrick were both there to watch that happen," said Baker.

Expect Baker to try to frame the race as two standard-issue politicians -- Patrick and Cahill -- who talk about doing things for the state versus his experience in bringing real results to the private sector.

Time and again, Baker cites his "track record" to distinguish him from the field. "People feel like the big speaker is nowhere near as interesting as someone who gives them knowledgeable answers when they ask tough questions," he adds in a not-so-subtle shot at President Barack Obama -- a personal friend of Patrick's.

The central challenge for Baker is how to win a race -- not a special election -- in a state that still heavily favors Democrats. (At the end of 2008 -- the latest information available at the state's election division -- there were 4.2 million registered Democrats, 2.1 million "unenrolled" or independents and just 1.6 million Republicans.)

Where do you get your info on Bay State politics? Baker should win the Corner Office this fall but don't compare him to Mitt Romney.

Baker is more like the late Gov. Frank Sargent, a true Gypsy Moth Republican in the mold of Leverett Saltonstall, Frank Hatch, even Bill Weld. Romney ran to the left in 2002 but was a Mormon conservative underneath all along.

Think of Baker as Bill Weld without the amber colored liquids. He is pro-choice, for gay rights (his brother is gay) but he is tight with a buck.

As for Patrick, he is hiring bottom of the barrel staffers for his re-election effort because he is broke. He just hired a greenhorn to organize the four western counties (a big chunk of real estate) for $1,200/month. You get what you pay for, in this case, political lightweights. Patrick is dead man walking.

37th, you can give me all the crap you want about your free speech rights and other posters but scanning through your thick-wtted repeated posting anyone else is gonna come to the same conclusion I do and that is that you have to be completely frickin' retarded.

URGENT TO THE GOOD PEOPLE ON THE INSIDE OF THE FBI (and I know you follow this blog):

The snowstorm is coming. So the microwave torturers at the MAGLOCLEN Mid-Atlantic fusion center in Newtown, Bucks County, PA are "upping the amplitude" in response to widely published articles exposing the misuse of the U.S. government's nationwide cell tower- based electromagnetic microwave/laser weapon system to attack, injure and impair unconstitutionally and unjustly "targeted" citizens.

YOU MUST ACT. NOW. IF YOU DO NOT, YOU ARE COMPLICIT AND NEGLIGENT BY YOUR INACTION.

And that goes for Team Obama, too.

WHY ARE YOU COVERING UP ATROCITIES AGAINST AMERICAN CITIZENS THAT WERE SPAWNED OR VASTLY EXPANDED UNDER BUSH-CHENEY?

@DDAWD: you forgot Teddy Kennedy before he died, Jake did one of the most low-class posts ever issued here hoping Kennedy would hurry up and die. Cillizza was cool with it, as usual. Jake is one of the sickest people I've ever run into.

You really need to wonder how one person could end up so completely f*cked in the head. Imagine what kind of adult he's going to grow into.

There are roughly 4 million registered voters in Massachusetts. I suspect that CC's numbers were taken by multiplying fractional registration against the total population, not registered voters. No biggie. Just make sure you're stocked up for the Moreaster!

I am astonished that Obama was complaining about Bush's Presciption Drug Act, which purchases drugs for Seniors.

But Obama's health care plan would have created a situation 100 times worse - so what gives?

---

Except for the fact that the extension of Medicare to drugs was unfunded and runs, oh, a $100B or so a year, whereas the CBO scored the health care plan a budget plus. Facts. Such a HARD thing to handle for some.

Hate to be the bearer zouk but my larger parrots all have you beat in the brains department. They can come up with their own material while you're stuck on a loop about "berry" and pasting from rags
like National Review.

Damn right it's scary and it just underscores the traitorous duplicity of water-carriers like Cillizza who want to see these wretched totalitarians prevail. I fully expect to see the USA descend to Third World stature in my lifetime with martial law and food riots, which I will watch shaking my head sadly from my new home in Cần Thơ.

And it's conclusive proof that the MSM false narrative that these types--whether you call em teabaggers, birthers, deathers, tenthers, the Brotherhood, or the Klan--are motivated by "tax reform," "small government," and "family values" is a lot of bunk. People had better wake up.

Aside from our gun fetish NOTHING makes America look more backward than creationism. Hard to believe we were the first nation to reach the moon, now we'll be lucky if we can turn out a decent biologist.

And to think we actually allow that 77% to vote. Jefferson must be doing 3600 RPMs in his grave.

"The guy gets sworn-in for what, five minutes before he says something so utterly idiotic that it rivals even Sarah Palin in its stupidity:

"AP WASHINGTON -- Newly-sworn Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown says the last economic stimulus bill did not create even one new job, a claim that most economists would dispute."

Posted by: JRM2"

Yeah, I don't mind that Brown is the most liberal Republican on the Senate and actually more liberal than some Democrats.

That being said, he doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. I am starting to think that the reason people have trouble pinpointing his ideology isn't because he's a "Scott Brown Republican," but it's that he doesn't really have an ideology or strong principles. He'll just sort of follow the prevailing trends. Right now, the trend is to say that the stimulus didn't create a single job. Idiotic, of course, but that's what his party expects. If he's going to kowtow to his party like that, there's no chance that he stays in the Senate. Not when he actually has to stand on a record.

Free full page ad for GOP candidate needing publicity. Check.
No positive mention of the 44th President of the United States. Check.

BTW, nothing said about the scientific poll that shows GOP opposition to BHO is based on bias, sociopathic intolerance, and wingnut lies about 44?

From Kos himself:

"Conservatives, like Bill O'Reilly, are angry.

They are angry that a poll found that Republicans believe the crap that Glenn Beck has been feeding them for the last year.

They've spent the last year talking about Obama being a secret socialist who wants to kill grandmother, who wasn't born in the United States, who is making common cause with the terrorists because he wants to destroy America.

You'd think O'Reilly and the rest of the wingnuts would be ecstatic, that their message is getting through to them! But when a poll confirms that the Fox News message has gotten through, they're angry?

"A new poll of self-identified Republicans released Tuesday shows a large slice of the GOP believes President Barack Obama is a “socialist” who was not born in this country, should be impeached, wants the terrorists to win and only won the 2008 election because ACORN “stole” it for him.

The survey of 2003 self-identified Republicans, who typically trend much more conservative than voters who “lean” Republican, was conducted by Research 2000 for the liberal blog Daily Kos.

According to the poll, 63 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a socialist; 39 percent think Obama should be impeached; 24 percent said Obama wants “the terrorists to win”; and 31 percent agreed with the statement that Obama is “a racist who hates white people.”

Those numbers are just a portion of the results from the poll that paints the GOP as much more socially conservative — and in some cases conspiratorial — than most analysts would be willing to grant.

According to the survey, 36 percent of respondents do not believe the president was born in this country, and 21 percent think the liberal advocacy group ACORN stole the election for Obama.

Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of the Republicans polled, 23 percent, want their state to secede from the union."

Everyone charged with a crime in America is entitled to legal representation, 37th. Even people we don't like. If you have a problem with that there are about 200 others you could move to. Sounds like Somalia might be more to your liking, no government interference in the free market

The guy gets sworn-in for what, five minutes before he says something so utterly idiotic that it rivals even Sarah Palin in its stupidity:

"AP WASHINGTON -- Newly-sworn Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown says the last economic stimulus bill did not create even one new job, a claim that most economists would dispute."

Posted by: JRM2 | February 4, 2010 7:02 PM

Actually, Senator Scott Brown was wrong on this one. Obama did give the Christmas day bomber the right to consult a lawyer. That's one new job for the attorney that gets hired. Any other jobs that I missed?

*****(At the end of 2008 -- the latest information available at the state's election division -- there were 4.2 million registered Democrats, 2.1 million "unenrolled" or independents and just 1.6 million Republicans.)*****

Funny, that would mean there are 8 million registered voters in a state with a population of only 6.6 million.

The ratio is way off, too, as independents outnumber Democrats in Massachusetts by nearly 50%. If I had to guess, the numbers he's using are for Illinois.

"You shouldn't remind people of how narrowminded your party has become. The Big Tent is now the Pup Tent."

kk, this may not be true. Blame Obama for everything has become the Standard Model, the solution to the Republican schism. The Republicans have reinvented the Big Tent. The loyalty oath is kaput.

Now, whether laughable, surreal, impossible or psychotic: no problem. The Republicans are accepting anyone and anything they may say or do, just so long as Obama is attacked.

In one sense this is narrow-minded, but in another, we are seeing a flowering of fantastic creativity. Novel ideas on angles of Obama attack are encouraged. You make something up, the Republicans will accept you, open minds RRs.

Congratulations to the newest member of the United States Senate, Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), can't type that enough ; )

Several Senate sources tell CNN that the Senate Rules Committee, which assigns office space, decided to give Sen. Brown (R-MA) Teddy's olf office space as a matter of convenience. Because of his seniority, Kennedy had one of the most coveted office suites in the Senate complex. It is located in the Russell building, down the hall from the Rotunda, and has balconies that overlook the Capitol.

Deval Patrick has a 34% approval rating. And the people of Massachusetts will not soon forget how Patrick sat on the certification of THEIR SENATOR Scott Brown for a shameful two weeks after Brown won his senate seat in an uncontested election.

I know Charlie baker from my days in the Weld Administration and he is not Scott Brown. He is, instead, an intelligent, open-minded, independent thinker. The idea that even if he wins in Massachusetts he is going to be on any Republican short list for Veep is absurd. Charlie Baker is pro gay marriage and pro-choice. They won't even let him in the door at the 2012 Republican Tea Party.

Charlie Baker has a real shot, and as a Democrat I say, let him have his chance. But Charlie Baker will never be a national Republican figure unless the national Republican Party of today all happen to fall off a cliff tomorrow.

He's a real life New England Republican, which I beieve the rest of the country refer to as "Democrats."

Want a real conversation about the Massachusetts gubernatorial race? Watch Basic Black live TONIGHT (Thursday 2/4) at 7:30pm on WGBH Channel 2 or streaming online at www.basicblack.org. As always, there will be a live chat accompanying the show, so you can tell us what YOU think. We will also be addressing Scott Brown’s recent meeting with clergy of color, as well as the president’s new plans to aid small businesses.

It's very interesting that with Obama, it was accepted that the discouraged Republicans freely voted for Obama instead of going with their normal party-line vote. NOW, however, it seems that no one is willing to accept the fact that there might be Democrats as well as Republicans who are discouraged with Obama and the Democratic Congress, and will therefore vote against them, whether it is for a Republican or an Independent.

I think it would be a foregone conclusion that no job is safe, especially after the last two years, and that includes those Democratic jobs.

We really should take an objective view of a well run campaign by Brown, and bad one by Coakley, knowing that Baker cannot view it objectively. His position right now is to squeeze, cajole, or manufacture as much momentum as he can from it. He would be a fool not to.

The facts however, play thusly:

* Massachusetts voters have no dog in the national Healthcare debate. They already enjoy a state-run healthcare system.

* Brown did NOT identify himself as a Republican in his campaign ads - none of them.

* Massachusetts was a special election - out of cycle, which generally lowers voter turn out.

* Many people do not know this, but Brown is pro-choice AND happens to be President Obama's cousin. Yes, cousin...and he has stated publicly that the GOP would be unwise to count on his vote in their party line fights on the Hill.

Four of the last five Mass governors were Republicans, so I'm not sure why everyone was surprised by Brown's win in a state-wide election. I guess it makes a better news story if there is an "upset." Repeat wins by Kennedy and Kerry illustrate the power of incumbents who take care of their states -- funding the Big Dig must have taken a lot of political clout. I'm not sure who among democrats decided that Kennedy's old seat would stay in the Party ... history shows that to be a false assumption.

We really should take an objective view of a well run campaign by Brown, and bad one by Coakley, knowing that Baker cannot view it objectively. His position right now is to squeeze, cajole, or manufacture as much momentum as he can from it. He would be a fool not to.

The facts however, play thusly:

* Massachusetts voters have no dog in the national Healthcare debate. They already enjoy a state-run healthcare system.

* Brown did NOT identify himself as a Republican in his campaign ads - none of them.

* Massachusetts was a special election - out of cycle, which generally lowers voter turn out.

* Many people do not know this, but Brown is pro-choice AND happens to be President Obama's cousin. Yes, cousin...and he has stated publicly that the GOP would be unwise to count on his vote in their party line fights on the Hill.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, evidence that layoffs are continuing and jobs remain scarce. The rise is the fourth in the past five weeks.

Scott Brown was a charismatic outsider who rallied state Republicans to win a special election against an unprepared and bland challenger.

I don't know if Charlie Baker is charismatic, but that picture makes him look terrible. This isn't a special election, so turnout will be less of a factor. Whether or not Patrick has been a good governor, he's the incumbent, and he knows how to run a statewide campaign.

Whether or not Baker will win the election, he's nothing like Brown. The parallels just aren't there.

As someone who lives in Massachusetts the majority of voters are not Democrats.
Nearly 52 percent of the registered voters are unenrolled like myself, meaning they belong to no party. They are considered independent.
The Democrats make up about 37 percent of the registered voters, followed by the Republicans at about 12 percent. It was the unenrolled who overwhelmingly voted for Scott Brown.

I am a Democrat from Massachusetts who occasionally votes for Republicans including former Governor Bill Weld who was Charlie Baker's boss and role model. There is no comparison between him and Scott Brown in terms of experience, knowledge of government, and leadership ability. He is a very able administrator who is well respected by both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature. It's less clear whether he will be able to pander to voters like Scott Brown did with vague promises to "cut taxes, cut the deficit, and create jobs" without specific proposals to achieve those ends. He's also unlikely to alter his stand on issues as Mitt Romeny did to appeal to right wing Republicans outside Massachusetts. I'm still not sure who I'll vote for but Charlie is an impressive candidate unlike Scott Brown who campaigned hard and well but seems to be an empty hat.